


Numbers

by acelien



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, Human Experimentation, Original Character Death(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-19
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-19 13:43:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12411423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acelien/pseuds/acelien
Summary: In this place, they were nothing. They meant nothing. They were worth nothing. They were but numbers now.





	1. Number 1224

It was dark. It was always dark. What little light that leaked under the cell block door didn’t provide much in the way of illumination. Not that it mattered, he could see well enough. Everything looked muted, as though they were painted in shades of gray, but he could make out the different objects within a few meters of himself.

That was one perk, he supposed, of the hell he’d been subjected to. A perk and a curse. While he could maintain a stock of his surroundings, it also meant he could see the others. The ones who much farther gone than he was. The ones who could hardly be recognized as human anymore; the ones whose eyes flickered with insanity. The extensive scarring that covered his body was nothing to them.

A deep shudder racked his as the sound of a distant, agonized scream reached his ears. He wrapped his arms tightly around himself, pulling a thin, ragged blanket closer as he pressed himself farther into the corner of his cell. The sound sent some of the others in the cell block into fits of sobs.

They all knew what it meant when the screams began. It meant it the experiments had started again, and any number of them would likely be subjected to the same torture.

There was very little he could remember from before he’d been brought here, from before he became an intellectual plaything for the man called Orochimaru. He could remember a woman with a soft smile, and loving air. His mother, maybe. But that was it. Everything else was lost in the pain. Even the pain was lost in a numb void after so long.

He couldn’t even remember his name. At least, not his real name. He looked down at his right wrist, where two black markings showed through a layer of grime. The first was a number, “1224”. His call number as a test subject. The other was a set of characters, “琥珀”. 

He’d never understood why the characters for amber were etched into his skin. It was probably something he’d lost from before.

**_It’s you._** The little voice in the back of his head, the voice that whispered encouragements to him when he tried to remember, the voice that prodded at him to try and leave that dark place. **_You are Kohaku._**

The smallest of smiles tilted his lips up as another piece of his lost identity settled into place. It wasn’t much, but everything he managed to drag back from the void was a small comfort.

He visibly jerked at the sound of the block’s heavy door opening, and the small happiness he’d felt not seconds before shattered as the dread set in. The sobs grew louder as cell doors started opening and people started being dragged out. He curled himself into a tight ball, hoping his cell would be skipped.

The hope was crushed as the sound of key in the lock of his door reached his ears.

**_You should use this chance._** That small voice whispered. **_You’re well behaved, they’ll never expect rebellion from you._** That was true. He’d learned very quickly that quietly doing what he was told resulted in a little less pain. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

But what would point of trying to escape be? He mused as he obediently rose to his feet at the beckoning of the one in the door. He’d would just die in the process.

**_You may die if you try, but you’ll die here anyway. And the road will be much more painful._ **

He really couldn’t argue with that.  
\-----  
He waited until they were all moving down the corridor away from the cell block. He knew from experience that several others branched from it, leading to who knew where. As they came upon the first, he took his chance. He bolted.

Noises of surprise came from their escorts as he suddenly streaked away. That was another perk from his time there. With his enhanced vision came a speed boost.

It became very clear very soon that he wasn’t going to get far. He could hear the sounds of guards after him, and could feel the burn of fatigue start to settle in his legs. He may have been faster than his pursuers, but he lacked the stamina that came with their training.

He’d started to slow when the first pain of a weapon hitting home flooded his senses. His steps faltered for a moment as the the sharp kunai dug painfully into his thigh before the adrenaline in his system numbed the pain.

A kunai lodged itself into his shoulder, another into his lower back. The fourth digging into his neck is what finally put him on the floor.

As the adrenaline wore off, the agony set in. The weapons set deep in his body seemed to burn like fire. He knew he was bleeding out, he could feel the blood leaking from his wounds onto the stone floor. Darkness, true darkness, started to close in around his vision as the sound of footsteps drifted out of his perception.

While his life pooled around him in a thick puddle of red, he felt peace for what seemed to be the first time in forever. It would finally be over. He’d finally be free from the hell that the serpent-like man had dragged him into.

A smile pulled over his lips as he let himself be consumed by the darkness.


	2. Number 1464

She huddled to the back of her cell, covering her ears and trying to block out as much of the sound as she could.

The screams emanated from the man bound to the table across the room, sectioned and cut open, tissues peeled back to reveal delicate innards. He was the snake’s current project.

It had been going on for what felt like ages, whatever jutsu the man was placed under keeping him awake and alert while his organs were removed, one after the other.

She didn’t know what purpose this procedure held, but she knew her reason for being there. The man on the table needed to remain alive until the end.

If he didn’t, she was the back-up.

She truly pitied the man for what he was going through. But a part of her hoped he would hold on until the end, so that she wouldn’t have to. 

She shuddered at her own thoughts; that she’d fallen so far in this hell that she’d pray for another being to suffer.

She jerked against the back wall of her cell as the man’s screams started to break, and weaken. _No._

Ever so slowly, the sounds died out, the man twitching on the table rather than straining heavily against his bonds.

_No, no, no, please no._

Finally, his movements completely stilled.

“Hm? Already?”

She shuddered deeply, the oil slick voice creeping over her. She pressed herself as far back in the small cage as she could get.

“I guess it can’t be helped.” There was a sound of metal wheels on stone followed by footsteps drawing closer to her.

_No no, please, God no._ Her breath stuck in her throat, tears streaking down her cheeks.

The click of the lock sounded, and she curled up as tightly as she could.

“Please, no…” Her voice broke wetly, sobs wracking her small body.

A deep chuckle was her only response, and she was dragged from the cage.

In darkness, bodies curled up in corners, and shoulders shook with sobs as a new chorus of screams pierced the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone would like me to bump the rating up to M, let me know

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone feels I should bump the rating up to M, let me know.
> 
> This doesn't really have a timeline in reference to canon, you can just assume some time while Snake-Dave was still actively experimenting


End file.
